Time Bandits Creators Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement On Playing Supreme Being And Pure Evil

Summary Time Bandits, a family-friendly series on Apple TV+, is an adaptation of the cult classic movie with a focus on humor and adventure.

The series allows for more character development and explores various historical time periods, making it enjoyable for viewers of all ages.

Co-creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi also star in the series as Pure Evil and The Supreme Being, respectively.

Apple TV+'s new series, Time Bandits, is the first-ever television adaptation of the beloved cult classic movie by the same name. An 11-year-old history nerd, Kevin, joins up with bandits that jump through time after they accidentally end up in his bedroom. The group ends up on a comedic, action-packed adventure to save Kevin's parents and the world.

Co-created for television by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, this series delivers high-stakes and a lot of fun for the whole family, while potentially teaching viewers a thing or two about history. Both emotional and hilarious, Time Bandits premieres globally on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes of its 10-episode season on Wednesday, July 24th, followed by two new episodes every Wednesday through August 21st, 2024.

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Screen Rant spoke with Time Bandits co-creators, co-writers, executive producers, directors, and stars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi about their adaptation for Apple TV+. They discuss why this is the perfect series for families to enjoy together, as well as how they were able to keep the original feel of the story, while bringing in something new and fresh. The two also talk about how it came to be that they would be playing Pure Evil (Clement) and The Supreme Being (Waititi), before revealing where in time they would visit if given the chance.

Time Bandits Is A Series Families Can Enjoy Together

Time Bandits is a series that is fun for the whole family. It does a great job of delivering humor for different age ranges, something that is rare nowadays. When asked to talk about it, both Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement say that is what they set out to do, and they are thankful they succeeded.

Jemaine Clement: Different generations can watch it and understand it and laugh at it. And this thing is for everyone in the family, no matter age. Taika Waititi: It's harder for families to find something to watch together. Obviously, the film, but kids can say that they've seen the film, and they don't want to watch that again. It's nice to find something that's got a great sense of adventure and celebrates that part of humans and also touches on this idea of families and what you would do for family, and how you can find family in the strangest of places. But also, something that's enjoyable for everyone and also touches on a subject we all love, which is this fantasy of traveling back to different time periods. Jemaine Clement: Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that's for kids and for adults, but not together. And it's a great thing to do together with your family is watch something and be able to discuss it together.

Adapting A Movie Into A Series Allows More Time For Character Development

The Apple TV+ series is not a direct remake of the film. Yes, it takes the same concept, and the main star is even named Kevin in both versions, but adapting the movie into a full series has been a challenge, but a welcome one, because it allows the audience to spend more time with these characters.

Taika Waititi: It was both a challenge, but also, I think, made it possibly more exciting in terms of adapting something that wasn't just a straight remake of the film, as another film. We were careful not to draw too much, too close, from the film, because then what's the point. You can just watch the original. So we wanted to make our own version and to add our own flavor to it and spin off of it. And then obviously, with it being a series, you get more time with the characters, to develop them, and to develop their journeys. Jemaine Clement: Yeah, and talking to the crew, it was really difficult, because two weeks, we're going to be in medieval Africa, but then we have got to be in medieval England. Then we have got to make all these different sets and costumes, hundreds of costumes. But they loved it too. Because often, on a show, you just do the same thing over and over again. Or on a movie, you just do the same thing every day, and their job is keeping it the same. But this time, okay, two weeks of this, and we've got a new thing. The variety was fun for them, and we're hoping for the audience it will be fun to move from place to place as well.

Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi Were Originally Playing Opposite Parts

Custom Image by Grant Hermanns

Jemaine and Taika do not just write and direct Time Bandits, they also have important roles in the series. Waititi plays The Supreme Being, and Clement takes on the role of Pure Evil. When asked if this was always the plan, they both joke that it wasn't.

Jemaine Clement: Well, we hoped to get higher caliber actors. Maybe some who have had some acting lessons. But we didn't manage to get any. Too late, in the end. And we also couldn't afford it, even though our budget is big, we couldn't afford to bring people back to do a few hours or a few days work, over six months that we took to shoot it. So it just made sense that it was us. We would already be there. We were gonna play originally gonna play opposite parts.

When asked where they would go in time, should they be given the chance, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement cannot help but bring out their classic humor and have a fun time with their responses.

Taika Waititi: I felt like I did a particularly bad interview about an hour and a half ago. Jemaine Clement: You want to go back and do it again? Taika Waititi: I would fix that one. Jemaine Clement:​​​​​​​ You also mentioned that you want to go back and see the first time someone tried to scrambled eggs. Taika Waititi: When scrambled eggs were invented, yeah. Jemaine Clement:​​​​​​​ Those kinds of things. Like the first time someone sang something instead of talked or grunted. Then they'd made a note and then everyone would have just turned around. Did you see what Lisa just did? Taika Waititi: First time someone rhymed something. And then again and again. Jemaine Clement:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ By mistake and then someone was like, that should be an art form. Taika Waititi: You know, maybe the first time someone did a pratfall, they pretended to hurt themselves. Entertainment. Yeah, that was a big day there. And then that person would have been treated like real hero in that community, I think. Yeah, we'll do it again. Fall over again. Jemaine Clement:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We were reading about that, in our research for the show, there was a guy who was the first actor. No one had acted apparently, until this guy, and they go like, what's he doing? He's not him? Or the first time they showed that movie of the train coming into the theater and people ran out? I'd love to be in that audience. Taika Waititi: That would have been amazing.

Will Fans See Tamatoa In Moana 2?

Moana 2 is coming to theaters this November, and fans are hoping to see Jemaine Clement's Tamatoa return to the screen. When asked, he simply shrugs and says. "It's possible."

About Time Bandits

Created for television by Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”), Iain Morris (“The Inbetweeners”) and Taika Waititi (“Our Flag Means Death”), “Time Bandits” is an unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world.

Time Bandits will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes of its 10-episode season on Wednesday, July 24, followed by two new episodes every Wednesday through August 21, 2024.

Source: Screen Rant Plus